The Wildcats of Greenwood boys’ soccer seek another successful season. In recent years, the team has won the 2023 Perry County championship and completed a 7-10-2 season last year. The team is headed by Aaron Anstine and assistant coach Brett Beaver. Anstine’s 12 years of coaching under his belt proves his dedication to the program. Greenwood is led by seniors Brayden Beneito, Evan Gates, Aidan Presion, Keegan Ross, Madeline Warner, and Dylan Womer. Students from Newport include junior Camden Barrick, freshman Samuel Beaver, sophomore Deion Marique, freshman Oliver Tice, and freshman Bentley Zeiders.
The season began on Aug. 25 with a home game against West Shore Christian in which Greenwood took reign over the Bobcats, 2-1, with Womer scoring both. In goal, sophomore Nathan Joya had nine saves.
Looking forward, the team will begin league play at East Juniata on Aug. 27. They will return home on Aug. 28 to play Lancaster County Christian, a team not often played by the Wildcats, to then get back on the road to play at Saint Joseph’s Catholic on Sept. 3.
On Sept. 8, Greenwood will play non-conference opponent Tri-Valley. Since adding Tri-Valley to their schedule last year, they have previously defeated them, 7-1. They will then travel to Halifax Area on Sept. 10 to later play at home again, Midd-West on Sept. 13, and Juniata on Sept. 15.
The Wildcats will visit Millersburg Area on Sept. 17. Next up, four home matches on Greenwood’s pitch: Susquenita on Sept. 22, East Juniata on Sept. 24, Halifax Area on Sept. 27 for Homecoming, and Saint Joseph’s Catholic on Sept. 29.
The regular season will come to a close with an away game at Susquenita on Oct. 1, the Perry County boys soccer tournament at West Perry on Oct. 1, and two league games against Juniata on Oct. 6 and Millersburg Area on Oct. 8.
Within the past couple of years at the Perry County boys soccer tournament, Greenwood has run into more difficulties with winning against West Perry, with scores of 0-4, 0-1, and 1-2 to note. Even with these past scores, the team starts fresh and looks to pick up wins against the other county schools. “… PeCo is always on top of the list to find two wins and bring the trophy back to Greenwood,” coach Anstine explained.
